Defining report fields
Issue 3.0 May 2002
67
Define the position and length of a field
To define the position and length of a field:
1. On Screen Painter, position the cursor where you want a field to begin, and select
Field
from the action list.
The cursor returns to its original position, and the following message is displayed:
Move cursor to define opposite corner of field and press RETURN.
2. Move the cursor using the arrow keys to define a field length, and press
Return
. Be
sure the field is long enough to contain the data. If the field is too short for a value, the
report shows asterisks (
*
) in the field or, if the data is a word, cuts letters off.
The field is displayed as a question mark (
?
) followed by
x
’s. The question mark
indicates that you have not yet assigned a Row Search ID to the field. The Field
window is displayed.
The Field Window
Define the field’s data expression
In the
Select
field (see the above figure), enter a data expression to tell CMS two things:
●
What table columns should supply data to the field
●
How to manipulate that data
CMS picks out values from a table with both row and column identifiers. CMS identifies
rows of data according to the user’s input and the row search conditions you define (see
Defining the rows of data for a report
on page 88). CMS identifies columns according to the
data expression you define here.
